Hybrid Reality Show

 That Monday morning, the weather in Nkpor city was spunky, so bright and smiling. The self-acclaimed guru, just like all others before him, They always reason in one direction. When he was entering the ‘Reward' race contest, the Nigerian version of America got talents contest, he came with claims of having spiritual powers and abilities that only he can attest to. Like all the nonsense fellows in that realm with that kind of trait, they rate as talent and gift from above not below or beneath but above. I suspect, to hide their monstrous nature from people and officials and organizers of the reality show REWARD, they always point upwards with smiles on their faces as being a source of their power. Mr. Anthony isn't different. Upwards means God. They simply can't tell the organizers in this case officers and that I mean federal police that their power is dark from a dark source downwards or beneath the sea where everything is dark but with a smile on their faces to assure and deceive the gullible, they look at the white clouds and point upwards. After all, Satan we fear is supposed to be dark, not white or cloud colored. Not actually that they are deceiving anyone, but organizers pretended to be deceived and granted them the right to mingle.

The officers came with that show to help them solve unsolved cases that were piling up in their archives. Anyway, they might get solved are welcome to them. Three years ago, during one underground storming bout, one of them came out with that idea and it resonated. For two years, it has solved about ten percent of crimes no one had the means or hope of solving. You could not believe what money, fame, and flowers can help achieve.

That was how Mr. Anthony, alongside one lady that goes by the name Mrs. Mary joined this year's reality show and the aim was to use whatever talent they are laying claims to, to solve a staged theft that happened three years ago. The window of admissions is always open. You have the right to join the race at any time but there is a clause to that window. There is a line once you cross it, you can not drop anymore. You must battle it to the last episode. 

Mr. Anthony wrote in the admission form that he possesses numerous spiritual abilities the world has never seen, “A gift from the almighty” That almighty is what and whom many have asked him to enumerate on more but he laughed it off and pointed upwards again. The lady on her part, claimed that she could pray God down from his throne in heaven on a good day. He was told to enumerate on the 'good day' part of her claims. She laughed it off and told them that they would see her in action. “No need to be in a hurry to divulge anything prematurely”

They joined numerous others seen and unseen running after the trophy. Others seem to like operating in a way that at times, only the live audience sees them, those watching from home only hear voices and blurred images, no clear images but Mr. Anthony wanted to not only win the money, he wanted the name to stick to every mind watching too. He was so sure of success that he started positioning himself for future engagements. 

The prayer woman was acted up to who she claimed to be. You need to see her in action each wee morning. She talked and preached for two hours in the pitch she started that people were wondering if she was into one kind of drug or something like that. She will bind and unbind, then rebind again. Before calling down holy ghost fire to wipe away all the blockages, spiritual dross blocking this case, from being solved. Her acts were mesmerizing to the organizers and fans at the same time. Others claim the same talent as Mrs. Mary but her acts truly are in the class of its own but then, the class is not what the officers were looking for, they are after the result. 

Then, came the turn of Mr. Anthony the self-acclaimed Guru. The man who saw yesterday and tomorrow. The man who possesses all the known spiritual gifts and others never heard of before. According to him, they amounted to an extra twenty-five in his armory. When all vacated the front stage for him, he came out with five names he claimed the person was among them after few minutes of thunderous invocations. He said he had no existing habit of massacring those he would attend their burial afterward and ask the culprit to go and talk to the officers. People watching live and at home were clapping and guesswork started among the fans while almost all the five named were threatening lime and brimstone if he did not apologize, he came without with other cases officers didn't even know existed and came out with another five names, as usual, asking them to go talk to the officers.

The officers were beside themselves and some were contemplating employing him permanently and some suggested they retain him on important issues only, Some families with related unsolved cases were penciling his name down. Afterwards, officers went to work drilling the ten he came out with and were getting nowhere with them they were threatening whoever it was among them to confess or be sorry if he forced them to contact Mr. Anthony again. 

But as the day wore down into weeks and weeks into months, a pattern started surfacing in Mr. Anthony’s utterances, started jumbling. his utterances and claims started having noticeable claims.

 He will make one claim today, and within seven days, he will forget what he said and complicate himself. This trend became apparent with each passing week. By now, Mr. Anthony has also accumulated many stay awake fans to watch him each episode. By many variations, he introduces into his acts to freshen things, his acts were never uninterested.

You couldn’t believe the amount of fans he accumulated within three weeks. The number of fans his latest addition to the guy’s means to an end Have, they run into thousands in this small Vicinity? Some will leave their area to come each night to sleep where Mr. Anthony’s conversion images cover. And he is converting them in numbers.

The latest introduction was aimed to buy-back officers who were skeptical about his utterances and jumblings. Then just like his speeches, his images started malfunctioning too. He will come in with known and unknown faces this week, and the next, another fresh one that his fans started getting worried if he is into any kind of arrangement with the officers.

 Then, it was the Guru entering into alliances with politicians, and religious leaders, people with personal interests in the investigations officers were into.

 Many confusing and implicating images started raining like crazy each morning that officers, some religious leaders, and politicians were almost at each other’s throats each day and This Guru would step aside to observe them slug it out. “What game is going on?” People kept asking to think that the three after each other had now been on the accuser's list is a thing of great surprise to all. Many watching TV and reading papers and the internet are in serious mood swings on what is happening. The initial ten the Guru started with were even temporal forgotten for numbers kept climbing each day. Some fresh faces from the live audience were mentioned then grafted and attached to the first group.

To think that according to the rules, you can’t even drive away any misbehaving or misleading participant without first putting his case across to the committee to deliberate. Meaning that officers could not even dismiss anyone anymore from the show they started let alone one misbehaving participant like Mr. Anthony with the number of fans he has.

The trend of new names mingling with old ones and then entangling yet more even those from afar fans, afar places that left people feeling caged, and angry after getting confused, started losing interest and faith. They found the whole thing mortifying. And everyone dreading who his name will be next. Some pointed accusing fingers here and there as being behind Guru's name calling some now called mentally drained dragging their names in the mud. Creating doubts in the minds of people most of the time judging from his body language and smirks was intentionally done.

You can't serve two Masters at ago let alone four and still claim to be loyal and love all. Impossible to be neutral. But gurus or mentally drained depending on the side of the divide you find yourself were not done tying the police, religious leaders, and politicians down. He has it in stock for them.

 Suddenly, the man employed almost a year ago to flush out criminals and solve difficult cases were heaping up new ones and fucking with the head of those that will solve them. Somehow, he had found a way of controlling them and directing affairs having succeeded in fucking with their heads they do not know anymore how to go about their business without him or how to round up the case without appearing crazy in the eyes of the people.

The reality show Rewards suddenly lost a hell of fans and sponsors and the organizers are planning to rest it after this season. The moral issues the first two were successful in tackling were compounded this year, several names appeared in the file of officers to ask questions off, Using the reality showe as a means of solving cases was cast into serious doubt.

The only face smirking after everything is that of Mr. Anthony. The funny thing is that he couldn’t just understand the people. He cast his eyes upwards and the cloud still retained its colors although they appeared to be heading south, he entered his newly bought SUV and followed the cloud south, the sponsors had been true to their words.